


Supposed to be a Team

by Icechild



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cold, Experiments, Food, Gas - Freeform, Hurt Flash, Hurt Wally, Injured Wally, Lies, Near Death, Poison, Protective Bruce, Protective Diana, Protective John, Protectvie everyone, Self Harm, Suicide Attempt, Team as Family, They need to listen to wally, Wally Whump, Wally is pure, ignorance, kinda want to hit everyone but it gets better, no regrets, protective Clark, self hate, seriously please don't read if you are easily triggered, speedster, triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 04:51:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13310925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icechild/pseuds/Icechild





	Supposed to be a Team

Everyone was mad at him. He had messed up the last mission, horribly. Because of him they'd all gotten hurt. So Wally hung at the back of the group on this one. They thought he didn't see their angry glares, or hear their annoyed scoffs. Eventually he just went silent. He avoided them so they didn't have to see him. And when the alert went off for the mission and he was paged to go along, he knew it wasn't because he was wanted. It was because they needed a runner. Otherwise they wouldn't have wanted him. Wally West, the screw-up.

He stayed at the back as Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Superman, marched ahead. They received a distress call from a deserted facility in the middle of nowhere. There had been odd signals coming out of there and they suspected that it wasn't really abandoned and that there was trouble. They entered into the dark building and walked through the hallways trying to locate the source of the distress. Eventually they came to a large empty room and doors slammed shut behind them. Everyone swiveled to see what happened but saw nothing there. Wally ran to the doors and tried to open them but they wouldn't budge.

"They wont open."

"Are you actually trying?" Wally backed away quickly as Bruce walked past him and hit the doors trying to open them and nothing happening. He scoffed slightly and turned to go back. "Let's keep going. Something feels off with this place."

Everyone kept walking and Wally looked down at the floor. The team was the place he first felt he truly belonged but now, did he really? He was beginning to wonder as he followed them deeper in. Bruce was right when he said something was off. There was definitely something wrong. His body was starting to feel sluggish and it was getting harder to concentrate as well as breathe. When breathing right became an issue he knew he had to speak up, even though he dind't want to.

"Guys? I think somethings wrong."

"Of course it is that's why we're here Flash." Diana had a bite in her tone that told him to stop bothering them with worthless and obvious bits. He would have stopped had it not been for the fact that his vision was starting to blur a little.

"No..no I know that. I mean something... Something else..." It was really getting hard to breathe now. How did no one else notice? They all seemed fine but to him it felt like there were three elephants on his chest.

"Stop being such a drama queen we need to get the mission done. Then we can leave." John was even mad at him. Albeit, less than the others, but angry none the less. He'd gotten them all discovered last time because of his talking and they weren't ready to fight. They had been caught off guard and everyone was hurt because of him. No doubt they wanted him to shut his mouth.

"Guys please-"

"Yes please be quiet Flash." Clark continued on straight ahead. And after that he knew no one would listen. No one would even care, and why should they? He was a failure. What did it matter if he was feeling off. He needed to pick up the slack and be worthy of them for a change.

The feeling only intensified the closer they got to the middle of the room. Eventually it hit the point that Wally knew something was very very wrong. His head and chest felt like they were being torn open and on fire at the same time. His body felt like ice cold steel was sitting inside his bones and everything felt tight and constricted. It was so hard to breathe, so hard to move, so hard to think. He tried one last time to reach out to his team. His friends, his family, or that's what he thought.

"G-guys please...-" his voice was quiet and feeble. Weak and pitiable. Pathetic.

Before any of the team could yell at him for speaking again the lights suddenly turned on and in front of them stood a large platform, tables with restraints, benches with different tools and injections, large tube like tanks full of strange bubbling liquids. In the middle of it all stood a man. A simple man with dark brown hair, thin but not lanky. He had on all black clothes with a white lab coat over them all, with his hands behind his back he spoke with great pride and a smirk in his voice.

"You should have listened to him when he said there was something wrong."

As if on cue Wally collapsed to his knees wheezing for air as his body gave out beneath him. The world was spinning and blurring all around him as black began to creep over his vision. He fought back against it but he was feeling so tired. Everything hurt and he couldn't move. It all sounded underwater and he heard shouts, probably for him to get up, to stop being so weak. He felt hands on his body and thought he was going to be hit. That was all he knew before it went dark.

* * *

They all thought Wally was just being, well, Wally. Every time he piped up it was a reminder what happened on the last mission and none of them wanted a repeat of that. They knew that wasn't the case the last time he spoke. His voice had been tight and strained and they knew something was actually wrong. They were all a little irritated with the speedster but that didn't mean they wanted anything to happen to him. In truth. None of them were mad anymore. None of them were really mad to begin with, sure a little disappointed but that was about as far as it went. For the rest of the time they just thought it would be fun to mess with him a little. Maybe they could get him to be serious for a change. Ignoring him here had been a horrible horrible mistake. They all turned after hearing the mans words to see Wally collapse. He was white as a ghost as sweating and shaking. He hit the floor with a hard thud and his breathing went erratic and strained. They all yelled out for him and went to move for him. Clark getting there first and trying to get the young man to respond to him, they all caught the way his eyes were staring at the ceiling, and they all felt their hearts skip when they saw his eyes roll back into his head. Clark wasted no time checking for a pulse and visibly flinched when he felt the irregular ragged heart beat skipping around beneath his fingertips. They knew the man had something to do with it. Each of them turned back to the man forming a protective wall between Wally and the man. They could each hear his pained gasps and wheezes, each hitching breath having them terrified they wouldn't hear another. 

"What did you do?" Bruce was livid. Anyone else would think his voice was void of any emotion but they knew him. They could tell. He was furious that he had let something like this go undetected. They should have listened to Wally.

"This entire room is being filled with a gas, it's not harmful to you, the one it has its effects on, is the lovely Scarlet Speedster. Not looking so quick now are you Wallace."

Each of them went still. This man knew his name. This man knew Wally's name and had been gassing him the whole time. Bruce glanced at Wally quickly seeing the way his chest was heaving and his body was twitching and shaking in his sleep. Never a good sign. Clark still had a hand on his pulse and looked up to meet his eyes giving a grim expression and a solemn nod to say he was alive.

John was utterly and completely out raged. His eyes glowed a brighter shade of green and he growled as he stepped forward. "How the hell do you know his name." It came as a statement, not a question.

"Because of me." They each whipped around to face the new voice, this one, they recognized. General Wade Eiling stepped through the heavy doors into the room and up onto the platform. "The original Flash was Barry Allen, when he died Kid Flash took up the mantle as Flash, Wally West. I had a deal with Flash, not the kid, so I saw my chance here to get what I need to make the best soldiers in the world."

Before they could respond Eiling pulled a remote and flipped the switch the lights in the room growing brighter and they each moved closer to Wally before his body went tense and he let out a blood curdling scream. He thrashed on the floor to try to get away from the pain, trying but not succeeding. Clark grabbed onto him and held him to stop from hurting himself as soon as he tried to claw at his chest. Eiling flipped the switch back and Wally dropped limp. It was silent, no ragged breathing, no chatter, no nothing. They were all petrified. Clark checked his pulse again and went pale not finding any. Then Eiling laughed.

"If you want to save him then you bring him to me."

"He's not breathing his heart's not beating. Batman...."

"We can't hand him over-"

"If you don't I flip the switch again. Without his speed you wont make it to a hospital in time or your precious Watchtower. Your only option is hand him to me or let him die."

They stayed silent. They knew of the kind of things that Eiling was capable of and they didn't want that for Wally but it had to be better than death. They looked to Bruce, he'd make the right call, he always had a plan.

"Do it." Clark nodded stiffly and lifted Wally into his arms before carrying him over to Eiling who simply pointed at the table that was set up. They restrained him and then electricity was shooting from the cuffs and Wally screamed again. Alive. When it stopped his head dropped low and his chest heaved like he wanted to throw up but couldn't.

"Now!"

That was all the alert Eiling and the scientist got before all the other heroes charged up onto the platform and attacked Bruce snatching away the remote and destroying it, Superman restraining him and punching him in the face very shortly after and Diana and John going for the other one. Beating him to hell before pinning him to the ground in a bloody mess.

"You are going to Iron Heights for a very very long time. Or maybe Iron Heights is too good. I know a good place to keep you." Bruce was speaking deadly. It was the voice he used when you knew you were in horrible horrible trouble.

"Maybe not. You should have looked at those cuffs. Right now we've just injected a new drug into his system that I designed specifically on speedsters. It takes them right to the source of their power and it shows them precisely what they're most afraid of. He will break. And then he wont be of use to anyone but me."

"No...."

"Oh yes. Your little Flash wont be the same. But I'll tell you something. I know a lost fight when I see one so I'll make a deal. I will let you go in to save him if you let me go."

"Why should we believe you?"

"The more time you waste out here the farther gone he will be."

Once again they were out of options. Bruce knew he could figure it out and do it but Wally needed help ages ago and they can not loose him. They've seen the world that they did. They need Wally with them.

"Do it." Bruce practically growled and everyone let go of their prisoner looking at Wally hanging on the table. Eiling walked over and opened the front of the flash suit and placed monitors on Wally's skin. The EKG lit up with ragged rushed heart beats and hitching irregular breathing.

"Do you want to do this?" Eiling smirked at them each.

"You are despicable." Diana was furious with Eiling and herself, she was the first one to shut down Wally when he said something was wrong.

"I'm productive. Don't worry we wont do anything. Once I turn on this machine we will leave you on your own to move through this."

Without another word the switch was flipped and the world flickered around them.

* * *

Everything was a swirling Blue storm around them. Like they were in the middle of a tornado and hurricane blended to one thing. Then it settled. The watchtower was in view. They were all confused, wasn't this supposed to be Wally's worst fear? Where was he? 

Just as the thought crossed their mind's Wally walked in through the doors. He headed over to the chair where "Bruce" was sitting, working, at the computers.

"Hey Bats?... Can I.. talk to you for a second?..."

"What do you want?"

"Uhm....I think my powers glitched?...I don't know...It was like everything was standing still but I wasn't even running or using my speed and I couldn't talk to anyone and it scared me so much and I don't know what to do so I thought I should come to you..."

"I'm glad that you did, because I have something to tell you to." He stood up and looked Wally dead in the eyes, nothing but hate on his features. "You're off the team. We don't need a speedster who can't control his own abilities. We don't need a pig to eat all of the food and a clutz to ruin all of our missions. You're no longer welcome here. Get out of my sight."

"Wait...Bats?...Y-you can't be serious....."

"Maybe if you were more serious people would actually like you."

"Diana" and the others were suddenly in the room around Wally.

"You're a waste of space."

"No one wants a clutz like you."

"You shouldn't even exist."

"Your father should have finished what he started."

Wait what? Each of the real ones paused and looked at each other. What did that mean. They wanted nothing more to run to Wally and get him out of there but they couldn't move. Just watch. Like this was just to catch them up to what already happened while they fought. The world shifted again and Wally was back in his apartment sitting on his bed in the dark. He curled into himself and they all caught the tears running down his face.

"It was the one place.....The only place that felt like home....B-but they didn't want me either...."

They could feel their hearts shatter. They still couldn't go to him. What if it was too late when they did. It shifted again and they were in an unfamiliar place. Bruce recognized it from research he'd done on all of them in the beginning.

"This is his childhood home."

"Why are we here?" Clark just wanted to get to the speedster, they all did. Every moment that went by here made them realize that what they were doing in real life was so close to what was happening here. How could they be so cruel. How much of this had Wally done in real life.

Like a movie being played before them a young Wally West came downstairs carefully, looking like a spooked cat. He checked the area before he continued down with his bookbag hanging off his back. Just as he reached for the door a beer bottle was flung and Wally just barley dodged in time for the bottle to shatter where his head had just been.

"Dirty little brat where do you think you're going?!"

"School?..."

"Don't think you can speak to me so plain. You can't be smart. You aren't my kid. Did you steal food?"

"No sir..."

"I think you did! You don't get to eat again today. Do you understand me freak? Maybe you need a reminder!"

Within seconds Rudolph West was on his son and beating him as hard as he could in a drunken rage. Wally wasn't even fighting. He just laid still and let the hits land until he was a bloody pile on the floor. None of them knew what to do. Wally was abused? He never said anything. His family was starving him and beating him and his speed hid his wounds. How did he survive?

Once more they were in Wally's apartment as he shook laying on the floor. They tried so hard to reach out to him but they couldn't not yet. It was going to be too late. Wally's phone rang and he dragged himself to look at it. Seeing it was "John" he picked up.

"H-hello?...."

"We contacted your parents for you. Your father said he'd be right over to make you apologize."

"Wa-" Wally was cut off by the dial tone. After that he started panicking and everyone watching knew what a panic attack looked like. Wally dragged himself up and too the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror as he sobs choked out of his body. They wanted to get to him, to reach out, they were starting to be able to move. Just a little more. Wally had other plans, he punched the mirror and screamed. Grabbing at the glass shards and breathing rapidly.

"No one wants me.....I'm not going back there.....They'd all be happier if i just.....If i just......" Their hearts stopped when they saw Wally rip the glass down his wrist. The door was being pounded on and there was yelling and Wally cut again. Blood poured out and onto the white tiles and Wally did what they never thought. He smiled. He smiled and he laughed and he let the blood pour out of him.

The moment Wally collapsed into the side of the bathtub was the moment they could interact. All of them immediately ran to him and tried to stop the bleeding. John patted the sides of his face.

"Come on hotshot stay with me."

"Great....Hallucinating......I'm going to sleep...."

"No No Wally don't you dare.  You aren't. We're real. Everything else isn't. This is all an experiment from Eiling. We're here to get you out."

"I beat you to it...."

"Wally hey don't close your eyes."

"Bruce how do we get out of here?"

"I think we just need to break the illusion."

"Wally. Remember? We went to the research lab the scientist came out and you collapsed. Wally please."

"Don't......"

"You have to remember. We were all horrible to you. We didn't listen and we should have Wally please stay with us."

"Y-you don't hate me?......."

"Of course not."

"y-you should......"

His eyes fluttered and closed, they couldn't get him to open them again. Everything turned to the speedforce storm again before Barry appeared before all of them.

"Protect him and help him." They got a small smile from their old friend before They were suddenly all back in the lab. All of them turned to Wally who was hanging limply from the restraints and the EKG read his vitals extremely low for a normal person. For a speedster, he shouldn't be alive. Clark raced over and undid all the restraints, Wally falling bonelessly into him. They were afraid he actually was dead but pulling away his cowl they saw tired green eyes under his tuft of bright red bangs.

"Wally are you with me?"

"B-bats?......a-am I?......"

"No. We're taking you back to watchtower to get you healed up. You're safe. We'll protect you."

"I'm sorry....I'm sorry....I'm so sorry......." He just kept mumbling it until he passed out again in Clark's arms.

* * *

Wally woke up in watchtowers med bay to the steady sound of beeping. He felt the iv in his arm and his head felt foggy. Looking around the room he noticed all his friends sitting around his bed waiting. 

"With me hotshot?"

"Yeah..." He didn't really know what to do. They were all mad at him still weren't they? They were here to yell at him for messing up and ruining the mission yet again.

"Wally." Bruce spoke up, and used his real name, he was in real trouble. It wouldn't surprise him if he was off the team. "I'm sorry we didn't listen to you. We should have. No one is mad at you and after what happened in the speedforce because of Eiling. I don't know how we can make it up to you. I hope you will be able to share things with us."

"What?...that....was real?...."

"It was...We saw you and that Batman talking and saw the reaction.  Both his and yours. We saw your father..... and at the end. It was us.."

"I'm sorry......"

"Don't be. But Wally. None of that was real. Unless...."

"uh....yeah...That bit with my dad happened....it was an everyday thing.....so I just kind of...stopped fighting....i guess..."

"I have a question for you, Wally when we got you here, you weren't healing. Have you been eating?"

"Uhm..." He fidgeted with the edge of the blanket and didn't look up at any of them. They'd be mad about this for sure. He wasn't ready for John and everyone to climb up onto the bed and hug him. Even Bruce. He must have been in bad shape.

"It's alright. You can come to us with problems none of us hate you."

"We love you Wally."

"What would I do without my hotshot."

"We're supposed to be a team. Let's keep it that way."

Maybe, this was still home after all.

 


End file.
